About Tenerife

Tenerife is an island created volcanically, whose formation started to develop itself in the ocean bottom 20-50 million years ago.
The island is rugged, volcanic and sculpted by successive eruptions throughout its history (the most recent was at Chinyero in 1909).

The island is located between the 28º and 29º N parallel and the 16º and 17º meridian. It is situated slightly to the north of the Tropic of Cancer, occupying a central position between the other Canary Islands of Gran Canaria, La Gomera and La Palma. The island is located a little more than 300 km (186 mi) from the African continent, and approximately 1,000 km (621 mi) from the Iberian Peninsula. Tenerife is the largest island of the Canary Islands archipelago, with a surface area of 2,034.38 km2 (785 sq mi) and the longest coastline amounting to 342 km (213 mi).

In addition, the highest point, Mount Teide, with an elevation of 3,718 m (12,198 ft) above sea level is the highest point in all of Spain. It comprises about 200 small barren islands or large rocks including Roques de Anaga, Roque de Garachico, and Fasnia adding a further 213,835 m2 (2,301,701 sq ft) to the total area.

Coastline

The coasts of Tenerife are typically rugged and steep, particularly on the north of the island than in the south. However, the island has 67.14 kilometers of beaches, surpassed only in this respect by the island of Fuerteventura.On the northern coast are frequent pebble beaches with black sand, while on the south and south-west coast of the island, the beaches are typically much finer and clearer with lighter tones and quality of sand.